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Thinker profile

Thomas Aquinas

Synthesizes classical philosophy and Christian theology through act and potency, participation, analogy, natural law, and sacred doctrine.

Dates

1225-1274

Tradition

Scholastic Christian

Core profile

Synthesizes classical philosophy and Christian theology through act and potency, participation, analogy, natural law, and sacred doctrine.

Concepts to watch

Analogynatural lawsacred doctrine

How to study this thinker

  1. 1Start with the basic problem this thinker is trying to solve.
  2. 2Name the concepts Aquinas receives, corrects, or resists.
  3. 3Return to Aquinas and ask how the borrowed insight is reordered.

Aquinas connection

Aquinas responds

His method receives real insights from earlier thinkers, distinguishes what is true from what is incomplete, and orders philosophy to wisdom.

Adjacent profiles

Previous thinkerAverroesDefends a rigorous Aristotle and a controversial account of the intellect that medieval Latins had to confront.Next thinkerJohn Duns ScotusArgues for univocity of being, formal distinction, and a strong account of divine and human will.